The number of sensors and controllers connected to the electric power system is expected to grow by several orders of magnitude over the next several years. However, the information networks that are currently used to transmit and analyze data on the system are ill-equipped to handle the volume of communications resulting from the increased number of sensors. For example, the current information networks are incapable of delivering large amounts of data collected by the sensors in a predictable, time-effective, and reliable manner.
Without the ability to effectively manage and use data from the sensors, the deployment of sensors into the power grid (e.g., phasor measurement sensors into the transmission system and smart meters into the distribution system) will not result in the desired improvements. For example, existing bidding strategies for wholesale market are not readily adaptable to thermostatically controlled loads implemented at the consumer side. Further, requirements for multiple bidding iterations, large amounts of bid data, and an inability to encode private information into consumer bids hampers deployment of successful strategies for control schemes for demand response. Accordingly, there is ample opportunity for improved systems, methods, and apparatus for managing and using data in a power grid or other electric power distribution system.